Cute Cop, Silly Cop
by madame.alexandra
Summary: Anna has questions for Jenny. A LOT of questions. And Jenny is tired and annoyed and has a short fuse. Luckily, Gibbs comes home. ACD 'verse. Married.


_a/n: idk just something. _

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><p><span><em>January 2021<em>  
><span><em>Alexandria, Virginia<em>

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><p>Jennifer Gibbs knew being a parent was a difficult job – more difficult than her job at the White House as a member of the counsel, for sure – and that's why she'd always been so hesitant to commit, so adamant that she be certain she wanted kids. On particularly annoying days or nights, she reminded herself that she really did want and love her children, and all of the irritation and heartache was worth so much more in the end.<p>

It was one of _those_ nights. Her oldest was being _incredibly_ annoying.

It was a Saturday, and Jenny was attempting to get laundry done – Katharyn was already in bed, but Jenny had told Anna she was allowed to stay up to wait for Daddy to read to her – unaware that Daddy was going to be _extremely_ late from work. It was one of his weekend shifts, and Anna hated it when he worked weekends.

Jenny had asked Anna to quietly watch a movie until Daddy got home, but Anna had decided it was more fun to follow Jenny around the house, literally walking at her heels wherever she went.

Jenny was trying to be as patient as possible.

"Can we go to the Zoo tomorrow?" Anna piped up, tripping along as Jenny carried a laundry basket from the laundry room to the kitchen table and set it down.

"We're going to Grandpa's tomorrow," Jenny answered.

"Can we take Pascal and Max?"

"I think Max and Pascal are going to stay at home."

"But Mommy-!"

"Please do not argue, Anna."

Anna climbed up into a chair, and then tried to climb onto the table.

"Anna, get off the table."

"But Mommy, please!"

"Little girls do not belong on tables," Jenny said shortly, with sudden visions of all the horrible life choices Anna might one day drunkenly make. She shook those off for later years, and threw in a feeble prayer that Anna never went down that path.

"But I wanna sit closer to you!"

Jenny winced, feeling horrible suddenly. She smiled apologetically, and pulled out a chair close to her.

"You can stand in this one," she allowed.

"Mommy," Anna said, as Jenny started folding socks - she liked to use the kitchen table as a laundry folding area. "Daddy home yet?"

"The puppies will bark when he's home," Jenny said tiredly.

Anna giggled.

"Can I let the puppies in?"

"No right now, Anna," Jenny sighed. "Mommy is trying to do laundry without having to make sure they don't chew anything up."

Anna giggled loudly.

"'Cause puppies chewed up Mommy's shoes!"

Jenny fought back a scowl – yes, puppies had chewed up Mommy's favorite shoes, and Jenny didn't exactly like being reminded of it. She actually really did love the little German Shepherds they had ended up with, but sometimes they did infuriating things.

Anna got out of her chair and hopped around Jenny's feet.

"Can I help?"

"That's okay, honey," Jenny said neutrally.

"Pleeeeeassssse?" Anna whined. "I help, and you can play with me!"

Jenny sighed. She swallowed hard and then looked around.

"I thought you wanted to watch _Toy Story 3_?"

"Katty wanted to watch it," whined Anna.

Jenny turned back to her laundry and rolled her eyes.

Anna hopped around the table and then peered over it.

"Mommy, can I have a snack?"

"No."

"Mommy," Anna trilled, pitching her voice higher, "I want Daddy."

Jenny ignored her for a moment, and then met the little girl's eyes.

"Daddy will be home soon, Anna."

"I want him _now_!"

"We don't always get what we want."

Jenny smirked a little at that one – she'd heard it so often growing up, even if her father had ended up giving her anything, pretty much. She was glad Anna was such a good talker – she spoke very well, and she often spoke for her sister – but she'd once been as silent and thoughtful as Gibbs was, and occasionally Jenny missed that. It wasn't until her baby sister came along that Anna decided she had to be boisterous and talkative, probably for Katharyn's sake, all the time.

Anna climbed back into a chair, and tried to get on the table again.

"Anna Abigayle – "

She hopped right back into a chair, sat down, and pouted, staring at her mother.

"Daddy letted me sit on the table."

"No, he didn't," Jenny corrected immediately, giving her a look.

Anna frowned at her.

"I don't think Daddy would appreciate you telling lies about him."

Anna pouted harder.

"When is Daddy home?"

Jenny grit her teeth. She glanced at the four-year-old.

"Soon, Anna."

"How soon?"

"Anna, please go watch your movie, or play quietly by yourself."

"I wanna play with Katty. Can I wake her up?"

"Absolutely not."

Anna fell silent. She put her head on her hands and stayed there for long enough that Jenny thought she might have accidentally fallen asleep. Then she popped up startlingly and looked at Jenny with wide blue eyes, as if she'd just had a huge revelation.

"Mommy!" she cried, in a hushed voice.

"Yes?" Jenny asked, folding a red sweater of Katharyn's.

"When Pascal – when Max – when puppies get big, can we buy a—a – horsey seat, and ride them?"

Jenny paused, and looked at her a moment.

"Horsey seat?" she repeated.

Anna mimed something wildly, and pretended she was holding reins.

"Giddy-up!" she said proudly. She meant a saddle.

Jenny put her hands on the table.

_"No,"_ she said pointedly.

"But _why_?" whined Anna. "They'll be _big_. I wanna _riiiiiiide_."

Jenny arched a brow.

"Because," she said clearly, "puppies are not ponies, and they are not made to carry people on their backs. It would be tough on them."

Anna frowned at her.

"Can we get a pony?"

Jenny gave her a look, and didn't answer - the look itself was the answer.

_"Mommy,_ can we get a pony?" Anna repeated.

Jenny grit her teeth again – she forgot four-year-olds weren't so great at non-verbal communication.

"No, we cannot get a pony."

"Why?" Anna demanded, bursting out. "Why not? I want a pony!" she yelped.

Jenny stared at her in disbelief.

"You have two dogs and a rabbit," she said tersely, before checking her tone.

Anna looked at her with a stubborn, angry little preschooler face and stuck her tongue out.

"You're mean!"

Jenny snapped.

She smacked a hand down on the table, and pointed sharply at her daughter, robbed of her last fragile nerve.

"Anna Abigayle, you have no right to be so ungrateful right after you've been lucky enough to get two puppies for Christmas, when some little girls get _nothing_ – I'm running you your own da – darn – zoo, and if you want to see _mean_, you watch how fast I sell those puppies to _gypsies_ – "

"Jen!"

She hadn't even heard Gibbs come in, but he interrupted with a scandalized sort of tone, and Jenny blinked to find Anna staring at her with a little bit of shock, her questions stopped.

Gibbs strode up behind her and put an arm around her shoulder, looking between them questioningly.

Anna put her hands on her head and stared.

"Don't sell puppies!" she squeaked.

Jenny turned away from Gibbs, and put her hands up.

"She's all yours," she muttered, and stormed out of the room – leaving the laundry and the kid for her husband to deal with – a little ashamed of herself for losing her temper, but well aware she just needed a moment to herself before it got worse.

In the kitchen, Anna looked at her father, her big eyes wide and uncertain.

"Oh _no_," she whispered dramatically. "Mommy is mad. Help."

Gibbs came around the table, dropping his NCIS bag on the floor next to him and crouching down by the chair Anna was sitting in. He reached out and she turned, scrambling down into his lap and into a hug.

He kissed her on the forehead, but grinned a little – Anna usually wasn't fazed too much if Jenny got short with her; she was only upset if Jenny was truly 'scary' mad for some reason. Gibbs himself knew that starting a new job at the White House around the holidays and the New Year, when the presidential administration was about to switch hands, was stressing his wife out immensely, and he was letting her have her moments.

"No one is going to sell the puppies," he assured Anna gruffly.

Anna looked at him, her brows up in a cute imitation of her mother.

"Jethro, I am ser-iiii-ous," she mimicked, repeating something her mother said often.

Gibbs laughed, and ruffled her hair.

"Mommy gonna sell _me_ to Jeee-pah-sees?" Anna asked in hush voice, snuggling up to him as she struggled with the word.

Gibbs shook his head with a smile.

"C'mon," he said, standing up and pretending to stagger as if she were too heavy. He gave her a grin, and tilted is head. "We'll brush teeth, read a book, and then we'll go make Mommy happy."

"How?!" Anna asked breathlessly.

"Hmm," Gibbs murmured thoughtfully, carrying Anna towards the stairs. "We can play cute cop, silly cop."

Anna giggled loudly, and scrunched up her nose.

"You silly?" she asked. "Or cuuuuuute?" she trilled.

"I don't know," Gibbs said conversationally. "What do you think?"

Anna stared at him as he mounted the stairs, and she grabbed his nose and pulled his face forward pointedly.

"You silly," she hissed, laughing.

Gibbs grinned.

He let her down on her own feet at the top of the stairs, and ushered her into her bedroom to change into pajamas – he had no doubt that once Jenny had a moment to cool down, she'd be ready for a few minutes of pre-bedtime snuggles just to reassure Anna that she wasn't going to be sold to gypsies.

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><p><span><em>January, 2021<em>

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><p><em>-alexandra<em>

_story 236_


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